100 Days of Practice

Recently I reached a milestone in my meditation practice. 100 days of practice! I remember sitting down for my first guided meditation through the Headspace app. Through the guidance, Andy said, set your intention for your practice. So I did. I had so many intentions or outcomes. I wanted to be more in the moment, I wanted to be less anxious, I wanted to live my #OneWord and appreciate more, I wanted my thoughts to be less frequent. The list goes on and on. The truth is through these daily mediations I wasn't getting the results I was looking for. The results that people claim come out of mediation. I was actually more anxious and frustrated at first and I didn't understand why.

I now realize in the beginning sessions I didn't have an intention for growth or practice. I had an expectation, an end product that I was looking for. I expected to sit down and through meditation, all of a sudden this product would come about. The problem with this was that I wasn't starting from where I was. I had very little experience with mediation, yet I wanted to be an overnight expert. My intentions were good, however, I was ignoring the process and making it all about attainment or an end product. This is the complete opposite of what both meditation and mindfulness are about. In fact with resistance and wanting to change things as they are, comes more resistance.

Over the course of the 100 days I've grown in my practice. I let go and now meet each practice with an open mind. I'm still practicing and always will be because there is no final product. Each day I sit, I allow the mediation to be as is. There is no good or bad mediation. I sit down for the daily guided mediation and remind myself this is a practice. This a process that I'm building on each day.

As I reflect on my meditation at Day 100, I can't help but relate this experience to teaching and how children learn. Teaching needs to be more about the process and less about the end product. We need to meet the children where they are, find the hidden gems in every student and then lift them up from that point. This is the only way students will be successful.

When we meet and accept where the students are, it is only then that we can meet their individual needs. Take out the end product and each child will amaze you in their own way. Similar to mediation and mindfulness, children need space. Space to grow, space to learn, space to make mistakes. In an environment where space is provided students will feel more comfortable and take more risks.

Teaching children the process in all subjects is important. Allowing for practice and space where they can try out the strategies taught in mini lessons is necessary. Provide space where they have the drivers seat and be their co-pilots. I know in my guided mediation practice I look forward to those moments where there is less guidance. The silence where I'm free to try out the techniques. It's not always perfect, but it is always my own practice and each time I get up, I'm proud I tried. Our students deserve these opportunities. Opportunities to try. Times where they can show us what they can do on their own. Then we can guide them from the place of where they can, instead of from where they can't.

After these opportunities we can teach students to use growth mindset and ask themselves, "Where am I now and where do I need to go? What do I need to do?" This too is part of the process. Guiding students to knowing themselves best as learners.

Whether your into mediation or not, I ask that you think about your classroom and students. Be mindful of the process that comes along with learning. Provide your students with more space to grow and learn through the process. Opportunities where the product is not the same for each child because each child is not the same. Give them the space and they will amaze you.

Lately, I've found myself reflecting on the school year. Partly because I can't believe it's already April and the other part of it is I can't believe how far my students and my teaching have come. Every day I find myself saying, wow these kids are amazing! This is my 15th year of teaching and I'm not going to lie, it feels as if it's my first. I say this in a good way. So much of what I have done this year is new. My classroom feels so alive.

It all started in September where my new endeavor for the year was going to be Mindfulness. My co-teacher Mrs. Marshall and I took an incredible course over the summer through Mindfulschools.org. We texted daily about how the practice of Mindfulness was helping us in our daily lives and also how we were going to use it in our classroom. We were nervous! Mindfulness was new to us and then we were going to ask a class of 4th graders to take the journey with us. We didn't know what to expect and we knew there would be resistance. There was and there always will be. What started off as learning how to sit with mindful bodies and in quiet turned into at least 3 minutes a day of mindful meditation which many kids say is the best way to start their day! They've even introduced Mindfulness to their parents. Practicing Mindfulness in our classroom led to a community of learners who trust and respect each other in ways that I've never witnessed before in prior years.

This classroom community led me to open up more as a teacher and trust my students more. Trust their voice and their need for a more engaging and student led learning environment. At the beginning of the year, I'll admit I prided myself on my classroom "management". I had a classroom that was quiet and productive. We got it all done in a day. Reading, writing, math, and content area. We were on a roll. Or I should say I was one a roll. My kids on the other hand must have been bursting at the seams! Maybe it was my mindfulness that kicked in or maybe my Twitter stalking in chats (I wasn't an active participant in chats at the time) or the Twitter feed of incredible ideas, but one day I remember saying to my co teacher something needs to change. I needed my students to have more of a voice. They needed to have more of an active role and take more ownership of their learning. They needed choice in how they learned and shared their learning. They needed to lead the class, teach me and their classmates. It took courage, trust, a shift in mindset and a different kind of management (which I have to admit I'm still figuring out) but it works! Wow does it work!!

Thanks to Twitter and the amazing educators who share their daily happenings I've introduced more new things to my classroom this year then ever. Mindfulness, Turn Key Thursday, SeeSaw, blogging, Book Snaps, book reviews, book clubs, student led book talks, wild reading habits, across grade collaborative learning, Genius Hour, Global Awareness, March Book Madness, Homework choice, the list goes on and on. I look forward to going to work everyday and I'm proud of that! I'm even more proud of my kids! As I said they amaze me every day. I know my kids look forward to coming to school everyday as well. I see it when they arrive. I see it in their enthusiasm. I see in the pride and effort they now put into their daily work and homework. I see it in their daily SeeSaw posts and comments to each other. I feel the enthusiasm and can't wait to see what the rest of this years journey will bring. It's April and that means I have 3 more months of excitement ahead.

What's new in your classroom this year? What are you proud of? How and why does your classroom feel more alive?